Islamabad: In what could spell fresh trouble for the ex-Pak President, a petition was filed in Supreme Court on Saturday seeking the trial of former military ruler Pervez Musharraf for high treason, a news
report said.
Zafar Ali Shah, a senior leader of Pakistan opposition
party PML-N, petitioned the apex court to begin a trial for
high treason under Article 6 of the Constitution against the
the 66-year old former President, The Nation newspaper said.
The petition has been filed under Article 184/3 of the
Constitution and made the federal government and Musharraf as
party to the case under Article-183/4 of the constitution.
Citing the recent Supreme Court ruling declaring the
imposition of emergency on November 3, 2007 by Musharraf as
unconstitutional and illegal, Shah pleaded to order the
registration of a case against him under Article 6.
In his plea, Shah maintained that Musharraf committed
high treason against the state by declaring an emergency and
dismissing more than 60 judges, the report said.
Musharraf was earlier booked by the Islamabad police
for "illegally" detaining over 60 judges during the emergency
in November 2007.
The opposition PML-N, which is headed by former
Premier Nawaz Sharif, has demanded that Musharraf, who is
abroad as part of a long lecture tour, be tried for "treason".
Former premier Sharif was toppled by Musharraf in a military
coup in October 1999.
The PML-N has stepped up pressure on the government
that Musharraf should be put on trial for treason after the
Supreme Court ruled last month that the emergency imposed by
him was unconstitutional and illegal.
Earlier, Sharif asked the armed forces to distance
themselves from the former military ruler and file a lawsuit
against him for suspending the Constitution during his tenure.
The former President quit as army chief in late 2007 after
choosing Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani as his successor.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said that his
government would prosecute Musharraf for treason only after
the Parliament passed a unanimous resolution seeking his
trial.
Musharraf left Pakistan in mid-April to deliver a
series of lectures and to address think tanks in several
countries. For the past few weeks, he has been living in
London.
Bureau Report
